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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30030345">A New Beginning</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quinnoid/pseuds/Quinnoid'>Quinnoid</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Marriage Proposal, Other, they just love each other so much</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 00:00:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>950</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30030345</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quinnoid/pseuds/Quinnoid</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>Gingerly, he unwraps the box. Last year, Cel’s gift had nearly blown up in his hands, and he still doesn’t quite know what to expect when they hand him things. It’s one of the things he fell in love with: their unpredictability. Zolf’s so focused on being gentle with the box that he doesn’t notice Cel has knelt down in front of him until they chuckle. He looks up and freezes.</em>
</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Celiquillithon "Cel" Sidebottom/Zolf Smith</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A New Beginning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zolf drums his fingers nervously against the old wooden rail of the dock he’s leaning against. Cel’s late, but he’d expected that. Being on time is not one of their strong suits. An icy sea breeze whips around him, tousling his beard and making the hair on his arms stand up. He shivers slightly and shoves his hands into his trouser pockets, ignoring their contents. If he doesn’t think about it too hard, the lump in his throat doesn’t feel so big.</p><p>It’s crazy to think it’s only been six years since he met the eccentric alchemist. Six of the best years of his life. Six years of Cel being so genuinely good and kind, six years of Zolf feeling like he’s finally found a person he can just <em>be </em>around. Six years of enduring some truly terrible things Cel has tried to cook or bake, six years of little, dysfunctional inventions showing up around the house because <em>they don’t always have to make things better or more efficient. Sometimes, they just need to make you smile. </em>Cel always smiles when they see him. A little smile when they first wake up, a cheeky smirk when they’re failing to hide that they’re planning something, a sweet grin whenever he walks into a room. He knows the difference between the fake ones and the real ones now.</p><p>The sun is starting to set over the ocean, and Zolf chews on his lower lip. He really wants Cel to get here before dusk really falls. But they’ve never been on time before, and he would be well and truly shocked if they decided to start today. It doesn’t change his plans either way, just the ambiance. A sunset proposal is cliché anyway. A moonlit proposal on the other hand? That’s how they’d met anyways. Late one night, when Zolf was a little too drunk and Cel was a little too wound up, and they both found their way to the same dock. The rest is history.</p><p>Zolf shifts and leans against the railing, his fingers resuming their rhythm. A cargo ship slowly pulls into the port, and a small crew is scurries around, readying containers and shouting and singing. He thinks he recognizes the song, but it’s been so long he doesn’t remember the words.</p><p>“Hey!” Cel calls, and Zolf turns to see them running up the stairs. He breathes a small sigh of relief and slides his hand back into his pocket, thumb brushing over the little wooden box hidden inside. “Sorry! I- Honestly, there’s no excuse, but, here.” They shove a small package into his chest. “Happy anniversary!”</p><p>“Thanks.” Zolf grunts, feeling his face heat up a bit as he takes it from Cel. Thank the gods it’s too dark for them to really see. Gingerly, he unwraps the box. Last year, Cel’s gift had nearly blown up in his hands, and he still doesn’t quite know what to expect when they hand him things. It’s one of the things he fell in love with: their unpredictability. Zolf’s so focused on being gentle with the box that he doesn’t notice Cel has knelt down in front of him until they chuckle. He looks up and freezes.</p><p>“It’s not going to blow up.” They grin, and Zolf just wants to kiss them, but he can’t because they’re on one knee and his brain has frozen. “I think. I suppose it could? If I had-”</p><p>“Cel.” Zolf starts, but his brain stops working again when he opens the box. Inside is a polished driftwood ring with an engraving he can’t quite make out in the dim light.</p><p>“Right.” They murmur and look up at him. “Uhm. Okay so, a long time ago, well, I say a long time- Hang on.” Cel takes a slow breath. “Zolf? I think I fell a little bit in love the night we met. And I think I’ve fallen a little bit in love every day since. You were- well, you just- you anchor me. You’ve been a best friend and a confidant, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. If you’ll have me?”</p><p>Zolf stares down at the ring for a moment, then at Cel, and then laughs, ignoring their arching eyebrow. “You arse. Only you could accidentally crash your own proposal.” Cel looks even more confused until Zolf digs the box out of his pocket and holds it out to them. “Course I’ll have you, if you’ll have me.”</p><p>Cel’s smile is so big it hurts Zolf’s cheeks to see. They open his box, and carefully take the ring out. It’s bright adamantine with a small green stripe of something Zolf doesn’t know the name of coiling around it.</p><p>“I’ve always had a hard time feeling happy, ‘til you came along. First time I heard you talking about.. poly-whatevers, I realized just how excited you are about everything. You see the good in everything, and you bring it out and you.. look, you just make everything nice, yeah?” Zolf shifts a little uncomfortably. Cel is staring at the ring, wearing what he imagines was the same expression he had just moments ago.</p><p>When they look up, he realizes with a jolt that there’s tears in Cel’s eyes. They nod and surge forward, pulling Zolf into a kiss that he melts into. They’re smiling and laughing, and Zolf can’t help but smile too.</p><p>“I didn’t know if you’d say yes.” Cel breathes, eyes so bright with excitement. He can already see the gears turning in their head, the plans and shenanigans and wedding inventions already underway.</p><p>“How could I not?” He replies. “I love you Cel.”</p><p>“I love you too, Zolf.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I care about these two a healthy amount :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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